1. What is funded separately
The support conditions define it clearly, and there are two alternatives. The two routes cannot be combined.
According to professional sources, funded as a single activity is the replacement, in an apartment building heating system running on gas, stove or electric heating, of the heat generator with one using renewable energy sources, and according to the same source the connection of such apartment buildings to a district heating network is also funded. The list in the conditions is closed.
The choice is therefore between an on-site solution based on renewable energy and connection to district heating. The measure is aimed at a particular starting situation, namely gas, stove or electric heating, and the precise wording of the conditions must be taken from the regulation in force.
2. Why this measure in particular
Three reasons, and the third explains why it stands apart. It concerns changing the energy source.
Replacing a fossil fuel gives an immediate emissions effect without touching the building's structure. Changing the heating system is technically self-contained, unlike the facade or the windows, which are bound up with each other. And the measure is aimed at energy security as well as at energy performance.
The aim is therefore not only to reduce consumption but to change the energy source, from which it follows that the measure may be available to a building whose full reconstruction is not currently realistic. Both aims are stated in the conditions.
3. What to check beforehand
Four things affect the outcome more than the choice of equipment, and the first is the most often skipped. It concerns the fabric of the building.
| What to check | Why |
|---|---|
| Whether the heat demand is known | oversized equipment runs at poor efficiency |
| Whether the heating system is balanced | a new source does not correct uneven distribution |
| Whether district heating is available in the area | and on what terms |
| Whether there is room for the equipment | and whether the noise can be resolved |
The capacity of the old system is a poor basis for choosing the new one, since it was sized for different conditions. Where the building is to be insulated later, the heat demand falls further still, and that must be allowed for today.
4. How it fits a larger plan
Three scenarios, and the second is the most demanding. It requires two works to be coordinated.
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Full reconstruction is not planned | changing the heating system is a sensible standalone step |
| Full reconstruction is planned in the coming years | size the equipment for the future heat demand, not the present one |
| Full reconstruction is planned further ahead | consider whether the equipment will amortise before the demand changes |
The second requires two projects to be coordinated across different times, and the practical solution is to commission a heat demand calculation for both situations, the present building and the insulated one. A common design holds the phases together.
5. What it does to the energy class
One observation ties this article to the logic of the support. A single measure raises the baseline class.
Changing the heating system affects the energy performance value, since the calculation applies a weighting factor to the energy source, and switching to a renewable source can raise the class without any insulation. A single measure may therefore satisfy the requirement for partial reconstruction where the gain is sufficient.
At the same time it raises the baseline class, which makes a later full reconstruction harder, as covered by the article on earlier works. The order has to be thought through in advance.
Summary and four practical rules
Funded as a single activity is the replacement, in an apartment building running on gas, stove or electric heating, of the heat generator with one using renewable sources, or connection to a district heating network, which are two alternatives for the same starting situation. Four things must be checked beforehand, of which the most important is the heat demand calculation, since the capacity of the old system was sized for different conditions. Switching to a renewable source can raise the class without any insulation, which satisfies the requirement for partial reconstruction but also raises the baseline class.
Four rules: calculate the heat demand before choosing the equipment rather than working from the old system's capacity. Allow for the future heat demand where insulation is planned. Balance the system after the change, since a new source does not correct the distribution. Check the district heating alternative before choosing an on-site solution.
This article offers professional orientation as at the date of verification. It recommends no solution or product.